ABSTRACT
Notions of community are pluralistic and wide ranging and, in this chapter, I trespass into disciplines as diverse as sociology, politics, communications and ecology to explore its interconnectedness with fashion and its potential to further sustainability goals. My work at the boundaries of community development and fashion design over the past decade has challenged me as a designer and researcher. This intersection draws upon theoretical frameworks from sustainability-related and community development literature, yet has most life in a growing number of varied examples that emerge through grassroots ventures. Over these years, I have sought to experiment with live projects in this field, collaborating with fashion designers, public-service providers, academics, community development agencies and active local communities. This challenging approach has established ‘Antiform’ – a fashion label that seeks to find new methodologies for producing clothing locally in the UK – and ‘Remade in Leeds’ – a social enterprise that incubates fashion services to look for new ways to bring communities together, which will be discussed as a case study.
